Adjuster
The person at the insurance company who settles claims.

Agreed Value
Under this clause, the insured and the insurer agree upon a value that will be paid by the insurer in the event of a total loss. There is no depreciation deduction.

Appraiser
A person hired by your insurance company to estimate the damage to your vehicle.

Betterment
When your insurance company pays your auto claim and takes depreciation on parts.

Binder
An acknowledgement that insurance applied for is in force whether or not premium has been paid or the policy issued.

Blanket Property Coverage
Covers business property under a single dollar amount of coverage as opposed to insuring each item separately, i.e., Electronic Equipment and Media blanket coverage.

Bodily Injury Liability Insurance
Protection against the liability which may arise from the injury or death of another person.

Business Interruption Insurance
A type of policy that pays for loss of earnings when operations are curtailed or suspended because of a covered property loss.

Business Personal Property (Contents)
Furniture, fixtures, equipment, machinery, merchandise, materials and all other property (excluding real estate) owned by you and used in your business.

Carrier
The insurance company that issues the policy and provides coverage.

Certificate of Insurance
A statement summarizing the types of coverage, amounts of coverage and policy effective dates and which indicates that the certificate holder (usually your client) will be notified if a policy cancels.

Claim
The demand for benefits as provided by the policy.

Coinsurance Clause
A clause in Commercial Property policies under which you agree to share in the loss to the extent that you are underinsured at the time of the loss. For example, if you owned a building worth $100,000 with a 90% coinsurance clause, your required insurance would be $90,000. If you chose to insure your property for $60,000, you would only receive 2/3 of the loss amount.

Collision Coverage
Pays for damage to your car as a result of an impact.

Comprehensive Coverage
Pays for damage or loss to your car resulting from fire, theft, vandalism, and striking an animal.

Debris Removal Clause
A provision which may be included in a property policy to pay for removing debris caused by a covered cause of loss, for example, fire.

Declaration or Declaration Page
1) With respect to property and liability insurance, the portion of the insurance policy itself, used to detail the name and address of the insured, the locations covered, the policy period, limits of insurance, endorsements attached and premiums for coverage. Commercial policies also contain such items as the type of entity and type of operation of the insured.
2) A statement made to the company or to its agents by a policyholder, upon which the company may rely in undertaking the insurance.

Deductible
The dollar portion of a claim that you are responsible for paying. The insurance company will subtract your deductible from its claim payment.

Deferred Premium
A premium payment method which allows an insured to pay premiums on an installment basis rather than the entire amount up front. Payments may be made monthly, quarterly or semiannually, but the payment amounts must be equal at least to the portion of the premium that has been earned.

Drive Other Car Coverage
An addition to a Commercial Auto policy that covers named individuals while they are driving borrowed or rented vehicles. This coverage is necessary if the listed driver does not have a Personal Auto policy or is not listed as a driver on another policy.

Effective Date
The date on which a policy goes into effect.

Electronic Data Processing Coverage
Specialized type of insurance designed to cover your computer equipment, data systems, information storage media and expenses or income loss related to the destruction of hardware or software.

Employee Dishonesty
Protection against allegations of employee theft of tangible or intangible property from a client. Coverage should be provided on your premises and at the customer's location.

Employer's Non-Owned Auto Liability
Liability the employer is exposed to when an employee uses his own personal vehicle on company business.

Errors and Omissions Coverage
Protection against claims that you or your employee have made, mistakes through error or oversight that caused a loss of productivity or loss of revenue on the part of your client.

Exclusions
Causes of loss, conditions or property listed in the policy which are not covered.

Expiration
The date on which a policy will cease to cover, unless previously canceled.

Hired Auto Liability
Liability the employer is exposed to when a vehicle is rented in the company name.

Homeowners Insurance
Property insurance policy that covers your building, contents, detached structures, and loss of use of the premise.

Limit of Liability Per Occurrence
The maximum dollar amount the insurance company agrees to pay for any single loss.

Malpractice
Improper actions or failure to exercise skill by a professional or others involved with the care of the human body, such as a physician, dentist, blood bank, etc. Malpractice insurance is a form of liability coverage against such mistakes.

Mortgage Insurance
A life, credit life, or disability insurance policy designed to pay off the balance due or make the monthly payments on a mortgage, if the insured should be injured, become ill, or die.

Negligence
Failure to use that degree of care which an ordinary person of reasonable prudence would use under the given circumstances. Negligence may be constituted by acts of either omission or commission or both.

Non-Owned Auto Liability
Covers your business when cars that are not owned by the business are used for business purposes. For example, when employees use their own cars for business purposes.

Package Policy
Multiple lines or types of insurance under one policy.

Peril
A cause of loss that is covered by a policy, such as fire, wind, or smoke.

Premium
The amount of money an insurance company charges to provide coverage.

Professional Liability Insurance
Liability insurance to protect professionals for loss or expense resulting from claims of mistakes, errors or omissions committed or alleged to have been committed by the insured in his professional activities.

Property Damage Liability Insurance
Protection against liability for damage to the property of another not in the insured's care, custody or control.

Replacement Cost
When your insurance company pays your property claim for the amount required to replace your property, rather than the depreciated value of the item. This will be specified in the terms of your policy.

Safe Driver Insurance Plan (SDIP)
A program mandated by state law that encourages safe driving. The plan provides a premium discount to drivers who have not caused an accident or had traffic violations. The plan also ensures that high-risk drivers pay a greater share of insurance costs. The SDIP premium adjustment is given after all other discounts and rating factors have been applied.

Subrogation
The insurance company's right to recover payment from a negligent party.

Term Insurance
A type of life insurance policy that covers only a specified period of time, rather than the whole or remainder of the insured's life. Often that period of time is a set number of years, such as 1, 10, or 20 years. At other times, the policy is written for a term that expires at a specified age, for example when the insured turns 65.

Total loss
When cost of repairs to a damaged property is more than the property is worth.

Umbrella Liability Insurance
A form of liability insurance protecting policyholders for claims in excess of the limits of their primary automobile, general liability and workers compensation policies, and for some (few) claims excluded by their primary policies which are subject to a deductible, which may range from $250 for a personal umbrella to a minimum of $10,000 for a commercial umbrella

Universal Life Insurance
A combination of monthly term life insurance, plus possible savings in an arrangement that provides limited flexibility as to death benefits and premium payment.

Valuable Papers and Records Insurance
Provides coverage for the replacement of valuable papers, records and forms, including electronic media.

Variable Annuities
Variable annuities are often used both as savings and retirement vehicles. Their earnings grow on a tax-deferred basis, they offer a guaranteed death benefit, they benefit from professional management, and they have the added potential for income during retirement years.

Variable Life Insurance
Many life insurance-based products are recognized as savings and investment alternatives for people in all stages of life. In addition to their competitive returns, tax deferral on cash-value earnings, and tax-free death benefit, many life insurance-based products can also be used to satisfy educational and retirement planning needs.

Whole Life Insurance
A common type of life insurance coverage that provides a face value death benefit for the entire or whole life of the insured, unless the insured should cancel or not pay premiums.